


A Wish and A Promise

by Insufferable_KnowItAll



Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I realized I hadn’t written anything for Wakko’s Wish, It’s free real estate 😏, Sickfic, Wakko’s Wish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:22:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29573139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insufferable_KnowItAll/pseuds/Insufferable_KnowItAll
Summary: Dot and Yakko must try to continue on as usual in Wakko’s absence. However, as Dot’s illness worsens, she’s not sure how long she can maintain this façade. Can she keep her deteriorating condition to herself?
Relationships: Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner, Dot Warner & Yakko Warner
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31





	A Wish and A Promise

Dot stuffed another blood-speckled shred of cloth beneath her pillow. She didn’t know how many more would fit, but she didn’t want her older brother to find them. 

Yakko couldn’t know the extent of her illness. 

She refused to burden him with it. 

Dot sighed. 

She instantly regretted it. Her chest burned. Another coughing fit wracked her slight frame. 

She had always been small, but the illness had reduced her to a skeletal vestige of her former self. 

The bed sunk beside her. Yakko had come to help her through yet another attack. 

“It’s ok, sis. It’ll be over soon,” he murmured, smoothing her hair. 

Dot couldn’t help but agree. 

Her hacking cough was replaced with strangled gasps and ragged breathing. The burning sensation was replaced with the ever-present visceral ache she had grown accustomed to. 

She eased herself back onto her pillow with her remaining strength. 

Yakko drew her blanket up to her chin. He pressed a kiss into her temple. 

“Thank you,” she rasped. 

“Don’t sweat it, sis,” he responded, patting her tenderly on the shoulder and leaving the room. 

Moments later, the scent of roasted rabbit permeated the air. It must have been Yakko’s latest kill. The thought of her brother killing an innocent creature made Dot’s skin crawl. 

He waltzed into the room with one of their threadbare towels draped over his forearm. He lowered the dish in front of her with a flourish. 

“Bon appétit,” he announced with a terrible accent. 

“You sound sicker than me,” Dot giggled. 

“You dislike ze accent, ma petite chérie?” He asked, jostling her side with extreme care, as if she’d shatter with any more force. 

She giggled again in response. The giggling transitioned into her all-too-familiar hacking cough. 

Yakko hastily set the dish down and sat on the bed beside her. He placed a cold hand between her shoulder blades. 

Dot felt something wet saturate her glove as she coughed. 

She kept her eyes closed after the fit had subsided. 

She couldn’t be certain the blood existed if she didn’t see it. Maybe she could deny it out of existence. 

She knew she couldn’t ignore reality any longer when Yakko’s fingers tensed on her back. 

As expected, flecks of red dotted her glove. 

She risked a glance at her brother. His eyes were locked on her glove. He was eerily still. She could almost hear his thoughts racing. 

He had to know she was getting worse, now. 

She was, very literally, caught red handed. 

“Has—has this happened before?” Yakko asked, voice trembling slightly beneath the forced façade of calmness. 

He would know if she lied, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. She averted her eyes. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He mumbled. 

Dot shrugged listlessly, “I didn’t want you to worry. You do enough of it already.”

“Dot, this is serious.”

“Why would I tell you when you can’t do anything about it, Yakko?” She asked. 

“I—I can try. I have to try,” he insisted. 

“That’s why I didn’t tell you! I knew it would put more pressure on you than you’re already under. Just… leave it alone, ok?” 

“Dot—” 

“Please?” 

Yakko sighed, “Ok. Fine. But only until we get Wakko’s next payment—then I’m taking you to the doctor.”

Dot nodded. 

“In the meantime, I’m going to make sure that you eat every last scrap. If we don’t keep up your strength, who else will relentlessly mock my every move?” Yakko asked with a tired grin. 

His smiles had lacked their usual joviality since Wakko left. Dot’s heart ached when she thought about their absent brother. 

He was gone because of her. 

Yakko had tried to deny it at first, but his excuses had become more feeble the more she persisted. 

They both knew it was the truth. 

Dot’s distress must have been evident; Yakko squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. 

He helped her into a sitting position and readjusted her pillow. He knit his brow in confusion as something beneath it brushed his hand. 

Dot desperately bat his hand away, but this only seemed to strengthen his resolve—and his curiosity. 

He glanced down, setting the pillow aside. The bloodied pile of cloth stared up at him. He blanched. 

“D-Dot…” He stammered. 

“Yakko, I—”

“Just how long were you planning on keeping this a secret?” He demanded. 

“Until it got too bad to hide, or until… or until I—”

“Or until you died,” Yakko finished in a horrified whisper. 

She nodded silently. 

She expected bargaining, a lecture, a pep talk.

Dot would have preferred anything to the reaction she got. 

Yakko silently dropped his head into his hands. His shoulders quaked with unrestrained sobs. 

Dot wordlessly wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her cheek against his back. She felt tears of her own gather in her eyes. She had done precisely the opposite of what she had intended. 

“I—I was supposed to protect you,” he stammered between sobs, “Mom and dad entrusted me with you and Wakko with their dy—dying breath. He’s off who-knows-where and you—you’ve been prepping for your _death_ and I was none the wiser. I don’t think it could be any clearer that I failed.”

He turned to face her. She could barely tolerate the sight before her. 

Her brother’s cheeks were saturated with tears. His eyes, once bright with mischief, were dulled by the weight of his mounting responsibility. His insistently cheerful smile had been discarded. It was replaced with a melancholic frown. 

“You tried your best, Yakko. You couldn’t have done any more,” Dot said. 

She forced herself into a kneeling position and pressed her nose against his. 

He returned the nuzzle. The profound anger and despair that clenched his face lessened its hold. 

Yakko eased Dot back onto the bed as her legs gave out. The effort of the ordeal left her exhausted. 

“We’ll get you through this, baby sis,” Yakko said resolutely, “And when Wakko comes back, we’ll be complete again, just you wait!”

Dot wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince her or himself. She decided that that was irrelevant. 

“I’m waiting,” she said with a smug grin, crossing her arms. 

“I’m afraid you’ll be waiting a while. We’ve still got—uhhhhhhh… three months, two weeks, and four days until he comes back,” Yakko joked. 

“Sounds like we have some time to kill! Can you tell me the story?” Dot asked. 

She used her puppy dog eyes for good measure. 

Yakko pretended to think about it, “I don’t know, sis… you’ve still got your dinner to eat. Tell ya what. Clean your plate and I’ll consider it.”

She could only eat three quarters of her meal. They both knew she wouldn’t be able to eat the entire thing, but this seemed to satisfy him. 

“Good job, sis. I suppose you’ve earned your story. There once was a man—” Yakko began. 

“From Nantucket. Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. Get on with it, will you? Please?” Dot asked, abusing her puppy dog eyes once more. 

“Ok, ok. Sheesh, I’m glad the illness hasn’t deprived you of your pushiness,” he replied, pressing a kiss into her temple, “Once upon a time a brave knight married a beautiful princess and they had two sons.”

“But they wanted a daughter!” She chirped. 

“Uh huh. So they planted a garden all over the kingdom, and on the first day of spring every flower in that garden bloomed. And out of the prettiest flower came—”

“Me!” Dot proclaimed. 

“Right!” Yakko agreed, “And so the knight and his bride—mom and dad—took you home. And every night at bedtime they’d come in and say, ‘Who's the cutest girl?’ and you'd say—”

“I am!”

“And they’d ask, ‘How'd you ever get so cute?’ and you'd say—”

“I was born that way,” Dot said, fluffing her hair. 

It earned a chuckle from Yakko. 

“And they’d say, ‘Tell us your name, young lady,’ and you'd say—” He prompted. 

“Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa,” Dot was consumed by a coughing fit. Yakko placed a reassuring hand on her back until it subsided. She pushed through, “Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the _third_. But you can call me Dot!”

“And they’d say, ‘Can we call you Dottie?’ and you’d say—”

“No. Just Dot. Call me Dottie and you die,” Dot said. 

“And Mom and Dad would laugh, and laugh, and laugh, and they’d tickle you—”

Dot shrieked with laughter as her brother tickled her sides. He relented when she batted his hands away. Coughs intermingled with her gasping giggles as she tried to catch her breath. Yakko watched her fondly. 

“And then you’d laugh, too,” he continued softly, “And then you’d fall asleep with a great big smile in your heart.” 

She nestled into his chest, “I love that one.”

They sat in contented silence. 

Yakko’s smile faltered. 

“Dot?”

“Yes, big brother?” She responded. 

“I know this is a selfish request, but, please hang on. For Wakko and me.”

Dot shifted uncomfortably in bed. 

She wanted to promise him that she’d always be by their side; that she’d always be the Warner sister to their Warner brothers. 

But she couldn’t promise an “always.” She wasn’t even sure she could promise another year. 

All she could guarantee was the present. 

She would have to make that enough. 

She pressed a weak kiss into her brother’s cheek, “I promise I’ll try, Yakko.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sorry :(


End file.
